Christmas came early for Mike Golic this morning when he noticed a jam-packed “Green Room” while walking by during a Mike & Mike in the Morning break. When he asked who all the people were and was told it was the a cappella group Straight No Chaser (SNC), he said, “I went bustin’ in and started singing doo-wop with them. I said, ‘I love you guys,’ and they said, ‘We love your show.’”

Forty-five minutes later, the 10-member SNC, at ESPN to contribute holiday elements to SportsCenter, was standing on the Mike & Mike set behind Golic and co-host Mike Greenberg. After a brief rendition of Jingle Bells, the group invited Golic to join in on Santa Claus is Coming to Town (audio here).

“We didn’t know anything about it until Golic met them during the break,” explained producer Liam Chapman, who had board operator Brendan “Bubba” Peregrin “crank up all four mics” to accommodate the singers. “The plan was to have them give us 30 seconds out of a break, then Greeny mentioned Golic was a good singer and they let him take the lead.”

“Oh my God, me singing was completely by surprise,” Golic said. “I have all their songs on my iPod — my wife and I love them.”

Unfortunately, the Golics won’t likely make SNC’s show tonight at the nearby Mohegan Sun Casino — their kids are flying in from Notre Dame for the holidays.